Technology

Posted on February 13, 2018 by staff

Sandy Lindsay MBE joins Northcoders

Technology

Coding bootcamp Northcoders has appointed Sandy Lindsay MBE as a non-executive director.

Northcoders offers courses designed to help satisfy the increasing demand for developers across various industries and sectors in the North of England.

The courses aim to give graduates the opportunity to learn coding to an industry-standard level and to ensure they have skills, initiative and attitude well beyond what is usually expected for an entry-level software developer.

BusinessCloud recently visited Brooke at its new home Federation House to find out how it is training software developers in just 12 weeks.

Lindsay – one of our #FemaleFounders101 stars – will be working with James Brooke – co-founder of Northcoders – on the strategic direction of the business.

“Almost two years to the day, Sandy strode up to a panel I was speaking on and, after it’d finished, handed me her business card and said ‘we need to talk’,” said Brooke.

“Since then, I’ve learnt that not only do we share similar values and visions for how things should be, but how useful it is to have her challenging our thinking and ultimately helping us make better decisions.

“I’m delighted she’s part of the team.”

To date, seven cohorts – with a total of 129 students – have graduated from Northcoders courses since the business was founded in 2016. The business employs 19 full-time members of staff.

Its industry-led curriculum is constantly in review against its hiring partners’ needs. Hiring partners include Barclays, ThoughtWorks, MoneySupermarket and Apadmi.

Lindsay said: “Businesses of all sizes in the North are crying out for specialist coding talent and that demand is only going to get stronger so there’s never been a more important time to help fill that gap.

“I also love Northcoders’ ethos and whole-heartedly support its core values of Community, Northern Values, Fun, Diversity and Inclusion. I’m now focussed on adding as much value as I can.”